From cover design to shelf placement and influencer partnerships … how publishers will persuade you to buy their books this autumn

Think about the last book you bought. How did you choose it? Was it from a recommendation, a review, a TikTok video? Did the cover grab you, were you swayed by the quotes on the front, or did you just happen to spot it on an appealing table as you walked into the shop? Did you think about all the nudges that led you to that decision – by the publisher, the bookseller or that person you follow on Insta?

The reality is that our reading choices are directed and massaged at every turn. “It’s all about the art of persuasion,” says Philip Gwyn Jones, who was a publisher for more than 30 years and is now a literary agent. And who are the persuaders? They’re the booksellers, the supermarket stock buyers, the publishing houses and their ranks of marketers and publicists. And, more recently, persuasion often comes from BookTokers and online influencers, social media videos, podcasts and Instagram posts. How is all this changing publishing?

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Rescue workers and military personnel have been working around the clock since Wednesday’s disaster

• ‘The flood took everything I have’: survivors grieve for relatives and homes swept away in Nepal

• Chinese rescuers find ‘nothing but ruins’ at border crossing as Nepal seeks help to ID and store the dead

The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen and journalist Gaurav Pokharel report from the Nepalese town of Bidur, where rescue efforts are being coordinated. They spoke to survivors mourning loved ones and confronting the loss of their homes and livelihoods after devastating floods swept through their communities.

Among those caught in the floods was Sangke Dolma Tamang, who described the moment she watched her husband being swept away and returned to find her home and village destroyed:

Sangke Dolma Tamang, 61, had been cheerily cooking snacks in her village of Mailung in the Rasuwa district when the floods came without warning. The whole family ran uphill for safety, but as she grabbed for her husband, he slipped from her grip and was washed into the dark, fast-moving waters.

“Others tried to pull him to safety, but the flood swept him away,” she said, tears rolling down her weathered cheeks. There was, she said, nothing left of her village now. She had spent a night sheltering on higher ground, until an army helicopter arrived and brought to her safety at the barracks. Her son too was missing since the disaster, and she waited anxiously for any news.

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Filip Hrgovic singing to the press is a stark contrast to the brooding Briton who is grappling with the blinding lights of fame and glory

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic have presented an intriguing study in contrast this week. The 21-year-old prodigy from Chatham in Kent, of Slovakian and Nigerian descent, has been a thoughtful and slightly brooding presence while the seasoned 34-year-old from Croatia has been full of sunshine and songs.

On Tuesday, Hrgovic burst into a room where a few boxing writers sat and, looking tanned without a shirt beneath his leather gilet, belted out a word-perfect version of Saturday Night at the Movies, a 1965 ditty by the Drifters.

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Country star came to South Yorkshire town in 2007 for UK launch of the Imagination Library, her book donation scheme

Shane Jarman was up a ladder decorating a Christmas tree at the school where he was deputy headteacher when he got a call asking him to come to Rotherham hospital ASAP. It was December 2007 and Jarman’s wife, Claire, had given birth the previous day to their first child, a girl called Emma, so of course he rushed to the phone. All was well, he was told, but that “everything would become clear” when he got to the hospital.

Once there, his wife told him – somewhat unexpectedly – that they were going to meet Dolly Parton. “And literally within what felt like five minutes,” he recalled, “there were great camera flashes, lots of noise, lots of clicking and in walked this real big bundle of energy.”

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Chelsea defender reflects on spending time with refugees in Colombia this summer and her passion for helping people on and off the pitch

Lucy Bronze does not stop. Her brain runs a hundred miles a minute. She does not need traditional entertainment. “I’m not good at watching TV – I can’t sit still,” Bronze says, sitting sort-of still, on a bench shielded from the wind, overlooking Chelsea’s training pitch at Cobham. “Someone recently asked me what I listen to in the car and someone else jumped in and was like: ‘Lucy has her own podcast going on in her own head.’ I don’t listen to music, I don’t listen to podcasts, I just have a million thoughts going on.”

Bronze’s late ADHD and autism diagnosis help it make sense, but her mum had always suspected she might have one of the conditions, so it wasn’t a surprise. “Naomi Girma said to me: ‘I’ve never met someone who trains so hard in the gym with zero music on; it does not make sense.’ I was like: ‘It’s literally in my head, I don’t need anything else.’”

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Weekend mornings are for family – and whoever happens to be over. Forget fussing and focus on just one big lovely thing for the middle of the table. Here’s how

Family life has had a bigger impact on how I cook at home than almost anything else. There’s a lot of pasta on the menu these days, and potato wedges with different sauces. A lot of meatballs. And a great many pancakes – more than I would have ever predicted before I had kids.

My weekend pancakes – which made their way into my book Simple Too – are supposed to be a batch-cooking exercise: lots made on Sunday, then reheated through the week, in the toaster or a dry pan on the stove, so breakfast is more or less solved until Friday. That’s the theory. In practice, all 22 pancakes the recipe makes are gone by Sunday lunch – eaten by the boys, their friends, or whoever happens to be over for breakfast.

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Een oplettende buurtbewoner kan voorkomen dat in Hoogvliet een auto in brand wordt gezet. Dezelfde nacht pakt de politie Igor op. Die zegt bij de rechter dat hij jerrycans met benzine in de wagen heeft gelegd, maar verder niks van plan was.

Vlak na zijn eerste date met Alannah weet Xandro het al: met deze vrouw ga ik trouwen. Die dag komt eerder dan verwacht en nog geen maand na hun trouwerij overlijdt zijn vrouw op 30-jarige leeftijd aan kanker. Dit weekend loopt Xandro de Omloop Goeree-Overflakkee, speciaal voor haar.

jovo2021 has added a photo to the pool:

Otagi Nenbutsuji Temple
Kyoto, Japan

BONGURI has added a photo to the pool:

醒井延命地蔵尊。すごく良い空間でした。
Photo taken Samegai stage, Maibara city, Shiga pref.

Een startershuis kopen zonder ouderlijke bijdrage is inmiddels ongeveer even realistisch als een gratis parkeerplek in de Jordaan. Geen wonder dat steeds meer ouders en grootouders bijspringen. Maar wie te enthousiast overmaakt, krijgt de Belastingdienst op de stoep. Dit zijn de bedragen voor 2026 — en de truc die géén truc blijkt.

De bedragen voor 2026

• Ouder → kind: €6.908 per jaar (2025: €6.713)
• Grootouder → kleinkind: €2.769 per jaar
• Eenmalig, kind 18 t/m 39, vrij besteedbaar: €33.129
• Eenmalig, kind 18 t/m 39, voor een dure studie: €69.009
• Iedereen anders → wie dan ook: €2.769 per jaar

Onder “kind” vallen ook stief- en pleegkinderen. Blijf je onder de vrijstelling, dan hoeft de ontvanger geen aangifte te doen.

De valkuil: papa én mama telt als één

Hier gaat het bij veel gezinnen mis. De Belastingdienst behandelt ouders als één schenker — óók als ze gescheiden zijn. Papa €6.908 én mama €6.908 aan dezelfde zoon overmaken is dus geen twee keer belastingvrij, maar één te hoge schenking met een aanslag als beloning.

Ook de creatieve omweg via schoonzoon of -dochter werkt niet. Zo’n schenking telt fiscaal gewoon mee als schenking aan je kind zelf. En de partner van je kind valt bovendien niet onder de kindvrijstelling: die krijgt maximaal €2.769 als “overige persoon”.

Wat wél mag

• Per kind apart: drie kinderen = drie keer €6.908 per jaar.
• Kleinkinderen als bonusroute: bovenop de vrijstelling voor je eigen kinderen mag je elk kleinkind jaarlijks €2.769 toestoppen — populair om vermogen gespreid door te schuiven en de latere erfbelasting te drukken.
• Eenmalig groot: is je kind tussen 18 en 39? Dan mag je één keer in het leven €33.129 belastingvrij overmaken, of €69.009 voor een dure studie (met notariële akte). Deze eenmalige regeling geldt niet voor kleinkinderen.

Wat je erover moet weten qua belasting

Schenk je meer dan de vrijstelling, dan betaalt de ontvanger schenkbelasting over het meerdere: 10% voor kinderen (20% boven €158.669), 18% voor kleinkinderen (36% daarboven), en 30% voor de rest (40% daarboven). Aangifte moet vóór 1 maart van het jaar ná de schenking.

Trouwens: zoals je al aan de afbeelding kunt zien is er nog een weg en dat is af en toe je kinderen cash geld toestoppen. Geen haan die daarnaar kraait.

Meer weten?

• Belastingdienst — Tot welk bedrag is een schenking belastingvrij in 2026?
• Belastingdienst — Hoeveel mag ik mijn kind belastingvrij schenken?
• Consumentenbond — Geld schenken aan je (klein)kind

KATHMANDU (ANP/RTR) - Nepal heeft mogelijk 4 tot 5 miljard dollar nodig voor de wederopbouw na de zware overstromingen van deze week. Dat zei minister van Financiën Swarnim ​Wagle, die benadrukte dat het ging om een schatting.

"We hebben veel minder nodig dan wat we nodig hadden voor de aardbeving van 2015", zei de minister tegen persbureau Reuters. "De schade wordt momenteel in kaart gebracht."

Bij de aardbeving vielen destijds duizenden doden. Het wordt gezien als de ernstigste natuurramp in de geschiedenis van het land. Honderdduizenden huizen werden toen verwoest.

Het dodental door de overstromingen van deze week ligt inmiddels ruim boven de zeshonderd en kan nog verder oplopen. Het water heeft een spoor van verwoestingen achtergelaten.

Wagle trad niet in detail over waarom de kosten van reconstructie naar verwachting lager uitvallen dan na de aardbeving. 4 tot 5 miljard dollar komt voor Nepal neer op ongeveer een tiende van de economie.

Microsoft's latest Xbox merchandising deal means at least you can sit on an IKEA cushion while you wait for your PlayStation 5 to boot. IKEA has announced YXSTABY, a nine-piece collection of items aimed at the XBOX completist who has to have every possible piece of merchandise associated with their beloved game console. Need a stool? How about one modeled on a controller's thumbstick? A cushion? There's a D-pad to throw on the sofa. And a tariff refund for Xbox customers? Ah, well, the IKEA deal only goes so far… IKEA has long had a reputation for being that place where relationships go to die, thanks in part to the occasionally labyrinthine layout of its store. Xbox has, under the leadership of Asha Sharma, acquired a similar rep as far as staffers and game studios are concerned. Thousands of workers were laid off in recent months as Sharma "reset the business" to improve the platform's standing in a market dominated by rivals. In the UK, IKEA charges £12 for a cushion or platter, and up to £115 for a side table on wheels. The Reg suspects Xbox branded stuff will be a little pricier but considerably less than an Xbox itself. Microsoft Store shows the comparatively weedy Xbox Series S retailing for £429.99, while the beefier Series X goes for £669.99. When launched in 2020, the Series S cost £249. "Unfortunately," wrote Microsoft, "console storage and memory prices have increased by more than 2.5x and we expect another doubling by the fall of 2027." It is far from alone. Price rises have become a way of life in the tech industry in recent months as demand for memory outstripped supply. This is not the first gaming-related wares that IKEA has sold. The BRÄNNBOLL collection predates the Xbox collaboration and features "everything to improve your gaming adventures, from a rug that helps you hit the enemies, not the table, to gaming bolsters that boost your comfort and play." The YXSTABY range was unveiled at Gamescom this month, but eager buyers have a little longer to wait for that Xbox-inspired stool. The range will be in stores and available online from October 1. ®

Outback becomes wildlife oasis after unbelievable desert rains. Winged explorers of all colours, shapes and sizes flock to the desert's edge to breed in the bustling wetlands of the Channel Country. (Australia)

Europe's renewables boom is becoming a gas demand bust - "Combined electricity generation from Europe's wind and solar farms is on track to exceed output from gas-fired power plants for the longest stretch on record in 2026."[1,2]

A decade ago, gas routinely generated more than twice as much electricity as the combined output from Europe's wind and solar fleet. In 2016, combined monthly output from solar and wind generally hovered between 30 and 45 terawatt hours (TWh), while gas-fired generation often exceeded 100 TWh, data from energy think tank Ember shows. Today the gap has vanished. Combined solar and wind output has climbed to around 80-110 ⁠terawatt hours a month while gas-fired generation has steadily lost ground. Throughout much of 2025 and 2026, renewable generation has matched or exceeded gas output for extended periods. Crucially, this is not simply the result of favourable weather. Europe's gas-fired generation capacity has grown only modestly over the past quarter century, from 250 gigawatts to around 400 GW. Wind and solar capacity, meanwhile, has surged from under 20 GW to nearly 750 GW over the same period. Europe now has nearly twice as much installed wind and solar capacity as gas-fired capacity.

Europe's warning for US gas exporters - "[T]he European economy has learned its lesson after the gas crisis triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine: Renewables adoption and energy efficiency gains have allowed the EU economy to use significantly less gas per unit of GDP than just a few years ago... Emerging economies watching Europe's experience are 'losing trust' in LNG as a reliable energy source..." Renewables investment stagnates, but solar boom continues - "Global renewable energy investment fell to $327.5 billion in the first half of 2026, down 21% from a 2024 peak — but solar continues to grow at breakneck speed... The dip over the past few years was driven primarily by a major contraction of the offshore wind industry." Africa set for solar installations record in 2026 - "The continent is on track to install 17 gigawatts of solar in 2026, up 45% year-on-year, according to the global energy think tank Ember and the African Tech Futures Lab. If fulfilled, it would mark the third consecutive record year for African solar installations." US clean energy investment surges 22% in second quarter - "US clean energy and transportation investment reached $75 billion in the second quarter of 2026 — the second-highest quarterly figure on record and up 22% from the prior three-month period. The results, published by the Clean Investment Monitor, were largely driven by retail investment, with residential battery storage installations, in particular, reaching $12 billion, double that of the first quarter, and coinciding with a long period of solar price decline." Battery storage capacity averaged 70% growth over the last three years - "During the first six months of 2026, operators added another 8.3 GW of battery storage capacity, reaching nearly 52 GW of nameplate battery storage capacity, based on our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. Operators anticipate bringing an additional 54 GW of battery storage capacity online over the next two and half years..."[3]

• Why Is It So Hard to Build a Transformer? - "Transformers are the linchpin of modern civilization. A single one can take five years to build."[4]
• The century-old device choking the world's AI push - "Surging data centre power demands are intensifying pressure on transformer supply chains."

also btw... Europe can do better than US-style air conditioning - "The instinct is to bolt a dripping box to every building but there is a smarter, cooler way."

These dripping boxes on buildings around the world trace their existence to 1902, when a young engineer, Willis Carrier, built his first "apparatus for treating air" for a Brooklyn printing plant. Since then, they have been replicated on buildings and rooftops millions of times. However, the basic principle has remained remarkably similar: a refrigerator turned inside out, spitting hot air outdoors while bringing a welcome chill indoors. But that principle has a problem. It does not reduce heat so much as move it, pushing it out of buildings and into the street. The hotter streets mean more cooling is required, producing more heat. As the temperature rises, the system has to work ever harder. The way out of this loop is to exchange heat with the ground or the water instead. Many great cities were, not by accident, built around lakes, rivers or the sea, with the water acting as a thermal reservoir, holding temperatures relatively stable throughout the year. Such systems can work at the individual building level. But the use of water to store excess heat can also allow them to scale up to whole city blocks.

• More 'deadly' heat is on the way: Can Europe's waterways cool us down and replace air con? - "District cooling offers clear benefits for cities aiming to safeguard public health and cut emissions."
• As Heat Waves Spike, the Global South Needs New Cooling Solutions - "Investments in a climate-friendly cooling system known as geothermal district cooling will help rapidly urbanizing societies resist dangerous heat indexes."
• Geothermal Heat Pumps - "Looking for an alternative to a new furnace or air conditioning system for your home, building, campus, or community? Geothermal heating and cooling technologies are a great option."
• The race to cool buildings with less electricity - "The options largely fall into three categories: Keep heat out, cool more efficiently and ease demand on the grid. That includes smart windows and shading to block heat, reflective roof coatings, built-in energy storage to ease peak demand, and automation and ventilation to cut down on AC use."[5,6]

Ergens in maart dit jaar kregen we bericht dat augustus de maand van oplevering zou zijn voor KJ en de verkoop kon beginnen. Eind 2024 tekenden we het koopcontract, medio 2026 verkochten we ons huis. In een periode van 16 maanden waren we in het bezit van een nieuw huis, met een financiering deels gebaseerd op het oude huis dat nog verkocht moest worden.
Het was een bijzondere periode.
Ook als je een krant leest, komt nieuws voor een groot deel toch algoritmisch tot je. Het is bijna niet te doen 100% selectief nieuws tot je te nemen. Ik zag opeens veel stukken over afkoeling of stabilisatie op de huizenmarkt (ik las instortende markt). Veel stukken die ik normaal gesproken gedachteloos las, voelden opeens anders. Veel meer about me, al was het meestal aan de andere kant van de wereld. Ik heb ze op een rijtje gezet.

• Eind 2024 / begin 2025 stonden de kranten vol over de Schuldenbremse in Duitsland. Nederland is een provincie van Duitsland, dus dat leek mij geen goed nieuws.
• In januari 2025 was de inauguratie van een (naar mijn mening) instabiele en horkerige man als president in de VS.
• In juni 2025 was er een twaalfdaagse oorlog tussen Israël en Iran die begin 2026 verder escaleerde, waarna het gedoe ontstond in de Straat van Hormuz. De kranten stonden vol berichten over komende ellende op de energiemarkten.
• Of het een hype is weet ik niet, maar er is duidelijk een investeringspiek van eind 2024 tot nu in AI. Waardering van beursgenoteerde bedrijven die zijn gebaseerd op hoge toekomstige winsten voelt niet goed. En ik las best wat berichten over een bubbel die nu toch echt zou barsten.
• Het is bijna achtergrondnieuws geworden, maar de oorlog in Oekraïne (zeker niet de andere kant van de wereld) ging de hele periode door. Met periodieke nieuwspiekjes over gebrek aan aan luchtverdedigingsraketten en meer Russische aanvallen.

Nieuws lijkt meestal groter dan het is. Uiteindelijk is het (natuurlijk) goed gegaan en was die stress overdreven. Maar toch ben ik blij dat die periode voorbij is. Nieuws is gewoon weer nieuws. Maandag krijgen we de sleutel.

(de headerfoto is van een promovideo die werd gemaakt in ons huis voor KJ, met uiteraard een shot van het uitzicht)

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Het eerste kind van de revolutie is gegeten. Milo, met afstand de kleurrijkste vogel uit het MAGA-pantheon uit de tijd dat we woke nog SJW's noemden, zo'n 10 jaar voordat Rogier Kahlmann de term 'Trigger Warning' ontdekte. Van openlijk en getrouwd homoseksueel naar katholieke """heteroseksueel""" na 'conversietherapie' in 2020, naar ex-inwoner van het beste land op gods groene aarde. ICE schrijft: "Op 27 augustus heeft ICE Milo Yiannopoulos, een illegaal in het land verblijvende vreemdeling uit het Verenigd Koninkrijk, gearresteerd op de Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) in Kenner, Louisiana. Yiannopoulos was op 14 mei 2019 legaal het land binnengekomen via New York City, New York. Hij koos ervoor om langer te blijven dan toegestaan, in strijd met de wetgeving van ons land. Op 22 juli vaardigde een immigratierechter een definitief uitzettingsbevel uit tegen Yiannopoulos, nadat hij niet was verschenen bij zijn immigratiehoorzitting. Hij blijft in hechtenis van ICE in afwachting van zijn uitzetting." Maar dit is toch een flagrante mensenrechtenschending, een homoseksueel uitzetten naar een islamitisch land? Een paar van Milo's pro ICE tweets van vorig jaar na de breek.

Andere Tijden

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gestorven voor z'n principes

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twee kaartjes alstublieft

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Thomas Hawk posted a photo: